Making Makers Mobile

Right now there's a big difference between being an end user in the world of computers and being one in the world of mobile phones. You can, if you want, pretty much build your own computer from off-the-shelf components and operate it using off-the-shelf software; all open-source if you're so inclined. Most people don't build their own computers, of course, any more than they change their car's oil themselves or make their own furniture. Or houses. Or what-have-you.

The fact that some people do is more important than it looks, however. A type of artifact that some people build on their own stays open to the "maker" idea, and there are always some companies that support the maker culture. I'd even suggest that the energy and enthusiasm in the "make your own" part of any industry drives innovation in the more mainstream part of the same industry. In fact, the whole PC industry can be traced back to the HomeBrew Computer Club and people like them.

The mobile phone industry has come to us in a more corporate, top-down process. At least in the US, not only is it essentially impossible to build your own phone; it's immensely difficult to choose a phone you like except as one of the sponsored items allowed by a carrier like AT&T or Verizon.

Now, this is probably good enough for most people, most of the time. Most people who use any sort of artifact or tool are not going to get so involved in the tool itself that they learn how to make their own. But it makes a big difference when you can do that, even if you personally don't. When was the last time you really used that freedom of speech you have? Probably not very recently -- but that doesn't mean you don't care whether you have it, right?

The mobile phone industry is starting to change, and it's going to start allowing some individual makers to get involved. Glenn Fleishman explains how it might work and some of what it's going to mean. An industry that's actively resisted innovation and change is starting to face up to it, and the results can only lead to more and better products and services.